Once world’s fifth largest delta is without a drop of water

KARACHI: Between the several scattered makeshift huts in this small remote village in Thatta district, Slama Khaskheli is lucky enough that she has access to drinking water at her door step. A hand pump donated by a philanthropist. The quality of water is in question, but at least she can get water whenever she wants.

But few kilometers away from the Khaskheli’s village, there is another small fishermen hamlet, Allah Dino Patel, located near Kharo Chhan Creek, one of seventeen creeks of the River Indus Delta in Thatta district; the residents have to walk four kilometers every day to fetch water from a hand pump.

Though, the water is brackish, but eve after walking so long they can at least find water for their daily use.

But like residents of this villager, everyone is not fortunate to find water in this region facing acute water shortage. Apart from age difference, women pay the burden of water crisis.

One can see minor girls at different locations carrying tins and pitchers are walking almost for the entire day to find new water sources. They were seeing their mothers, sisters and other women doing it. It’s what these girls grown up with; it’s what they will die doing. This is the region where Indus meets Arabian Sea. Upstream diversion of river Indus water due to construction of dams and barrages on Indus has reduced the river flows drastically. Most of the creeks, where Indus was flowing in the past are now lying dry.

There are several small islands, where the residents have not even land to walk in search of water.

Like, remote deltaic island, locally known as Tipan Island, located at around two hours of boat journey from the Keti Bunder town, the last human settlement on River Indus, water is a precious commodity.

These deltaic islands, scattered along estuary of River Indus near Arabian Sea, are surrounded by water, even the land on these islands is submerged twice a day with tidal currents.

There is no freshwater source and communities have to import water from land. Three times a week, a boat, carrying water arrives on this Island.

“There is no water source even in Keti Bunder, some people bring water through tankers to Keti Bunder and then it is transported through boat,” said Subhan Dablo, a resident of the island.

Residents have to spend more than half of their total income on drinking water.

Like other deltas in South Asia, in River Indus Delta too, the faces of those people are overwhelmingly the faces of women. As men travel to the mega cities to find possible ways to livelihood, women now make up the majority of the problems related to water shortages.

Recently, the UK-based international charity, WaterAid released that around 16 million people in Pakistan do not have access to clean drinking water. “At least 84 percent to 89 percent of the country’s water sources are substandard for human consumption, due to which about 53,000 children die of water borne diseases like diarrhea,” stated the report, adding that in every over 3 million people suffer from water born diseases in the country. Recently appointed chief minister of Sindh has made so many promises, but none of them is covering provision of clean water to the people of Sindh who are suffering with either acute water shortage or have worst quality of water.